What can anyone who isn’t directly affected by this tragic epidemic do? There were 922 deaths from illicit drugs.
It looks like the weekends are the most heated for first responders; Saturdays being the busiest days and it seems like the numbers on those weekends has increased by about 20% yearly.
This isn’t a new insight but it’s evident that these deaths are happening indoors and happening when there isn’t anybody to respond to an overdose.
It is important to note that Fentanyl wasn’t the cause of each death, but it was the second most common substance detected among those deceased that were tested.
What can be done? I’m thinking a community funded relief effort that consists of:
- Public health and drug education targeting at-risk youth and young adults
- Fentanyl test kits for those who chose to do drugs
- Attempt to promote a culture where high-risk drug taking ought to be done in pairs (I don’t know if this is condoning this behaviour, but if it saves lives I think it should be considered)
What do you think? Do you have any ideas of how B.C. can curb the recent spike in illicit drug-related overdoses and deaths?